With a tightening labour market and the demand for highly skilled executive talent, it’s no wonder more and more organizations are looking to review and revitalize their executive compensation programs. A recent compensation report published by People First HR Services shows that executive salaries are once again on the rise as companies work towards retaining their leaders. Keeping on top of executive compensation is particularly important where the talent pool is limited by factors such as demographics or seemingly unpleasant geographic nuances that some cities present.

Call them Millennials, Generation Y or the young adults still living in your basement, this is the generation that is supposedly going to save us Gen X’ers and older. Yes, this is the generation who received trophies not only for participating in sports, but just for showing up it seemed. The National Institute of Health reports that 40% of Millennials got so many participation trophies growing up that they believed they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.

There’s no turning back – social media is here to stay so why not make the most of it, both personally and professionally!

Source: spently.com

LinkedIn was my first foray into the social media world, followed by Twitter then eventually Facebook and others. Did I succumb to social pressures to join? No, I would say more out of self preservation at first. Then, as I started to see the benefits of these technology tools, I realized it was time to embrace the concept and jump in with both feet.

If you wake up feeling grumpy just at the thought of going to work, chances are it’s time to move on. Your work life can make up the better part of how you spend your waking hours, and if that time is spent doing something you don’t enjoy, or actually despise, that’s a whole lot of wasted time in your life.

Many careers depend on the ability to attract and interact with customers, clients or members, and yet, the first meeting with someone new can be nerve-rattling — ranking somewhere between getting ready for a first date and going to a job interview.

You rehearse what to say, all the while hoping that you’ll not only represent your organization well, but impress a prospective customer enough to win their trust and their business. Of course, there’s a bit of added pressure knowing that you’ll have to face your boss, who will be asking, “Well? How did it go?”

Staying in a job longer than your mind and body are able to manage can have dire consequences. People who were once content become antsy when work grows over time. But when there are no opportunities to be promoted, what’s a restless employee to do?

Making a lateral move by accepting an equivalent role elsewhere might be an option. Depending on the size of the organization, this move might even be made without leaving the organization.

Why is it that being respectful is frequently forgotten during one of the key phases of the employment relationship — at the time of job loss? Especially when you consider so many organizations have respect as one of their stated corporate values.

Typically when someone has job loss it’s about fit, that nebulous concept that really is about skills, style, work habits or interactions with others simply not aligning with what the organization wants at that point in time. Job loss often happens to great people who sometimes know themselves that the fit just isn’t right.

If you ever have felt that no one hears or sees you at work, you’re not alone. Poor communication within organizations could easily be the No. 1 complaint that is heard time and time again. You would think that knowing this is a key issue plaguing many organizations that someone would do something about it! Admittedly it can be tough to address something as important as communication when it is difficult to prove the organization’s return on investment. That is, if you invest time and even money into resolving the organization’s internal communication needs, what is the payback for the organization?

Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

Fortunately, this wasn’t meant to be taken literally, but is a colourful metaphor for smart time management: get the most undesirable task out of the way first thing, and the balance of your day will go much smoother. Tackling the least desirable job first may come as a bit of a surprise strategy, especially to slow starters who prefer wading into the workday one toe at a time, but it’s one way to ensure you make the most of your first 60 minutes of your day.

Optics play a big role in determining executive pay at a non-profit

We’ve all seen the media headlines scream CEO earns $250,000 or Head of organization gets $100,000 bonus. Recent Free Press headlines shouted Auditor general questions wages. This headline, like others, raised questions about executive salaries and left us to wonder, “Is it too much? How much is too much? Is there such a thing as too much?”

Recently I delivered a report presentation to a board of directors who asked me that very same question. Here’s a list of points that was offered to them for consideration: